"Their relative strength ratio rises when the market is weak and falls when the market is strong, " says Murphy.
Simply put, its a ratio that captures relative investment per deal.
Robin Dunbar, an anthropologist at the University of Liverpool, has studied primates and discovered a surprisingly stable ratio between the relative size of the neocortex (thought to be responsible for the evolution of intelligence) and the size of groups formed by particular species.
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In a serious setback for the UK's fight to head-off some of the remuneration curbs, the European parliament late on Wednesday night secured agreement on a mandatory 1:1 ratio on salary relative to variable pay, which can rise to 2:1 with explicit shareholder approval.
Beata Caranci, Deputy Chief Economist at TD Bank, has noted that the ratio of consumer debt relative to income has also been cyclical.
The first is that the sheer size of the emerging giants' labour forces has shifted the global capital-labour ratio (which determines the relative rewards of capital and workers) massively against workers as a group.
In the past month, the average ratio of trading in bearish options relative to bullish options has risen to its highest level since October 2011, according to options-data firm Trade Alert.
The stock yields 4.6% and has a price-to-book ratio of 1.7, modest relative to rivals.
Beaten up Hovnanian Enterprises, for example, carries a price-to-book value ratio of 0.9, cheap relative to an average multiple since 1988 of 1.1.
This is evident in the chart below, which displays the ratio of puts bought to open, relative to calls, on three major exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
And the quick ratio, which measures cash and accounts receivable relative to total current liabilities, has been trending lower over the years, dipping below 1 in the last 12 months.
The variance in comparative values between the two metals makes it difficult to pinpoint a magic ratio that suggests one metal is cheap or expensive relative to the other.
Overall municipal debt is relatively low and debt burden (the ratio of how much is paid on debt service relative to total budget) averages under 5% according to the most recent U.S. Census data.
When the ratio rises, it signals a stronger performance by gold relative to silver, and vice-versa.
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Conceptually, one can think of the final PRVit score as a ranking based on the ratio of intrinsic value (calculated from performance and risk) relative to current market value.
The ratio also does a better job telling us where valuations are today relative to historic norms.
Cabot is a bit pricey relative to its expected growth, with a price-to-expected-growth ratio of 2.81.
Coupled with high relative strength in the previous twelve months, a low price-to-sales ratio is one of the most potent combinations of investment criteria.
The M100 also figured this one was a bargain: Hertz is pretty cheap relative to its expected earnings power, with a price-to-earnings growth ratio of just 0.73.
But applying its own analysis of the so-called "fiscal multipliers" in different countries (the impact on growth of a given change in public spending or taxes) suggests that the socialist's approach would boost French GDP by about 0.2%, relative to President Sarkozy's plan, and cut France's public debt ratio slightly faster.
The O'Shaughnessy strategy likes that Hasbro's earnings per share have increased in each of the past five years, its price-to-sales ratio of 1.44 is below the 1.5 maximum allowed, and its relative strength is strong at 84.
MacDonald ran his numbers using equivalent GDP ratio, which he says is a better method than inflation-adjusting when it comes to assessing relative historical impacts of megaprojects like telescopes or churches.
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When the ratio is higher than historical norms, usually 100% or more, many investors believe municipals bonds offer relative value.
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